Woman pleads guilty to stealing $3M from N Carolina hospital

2018-02-07T06:48:45Z2018-02-08T02:10:57Z

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina woman accused of stealing more than $3 million from a hospital has pleaded guilty.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that 46-year-old Kimberly Russell Hobson entered her plea on federal charges of wire fraud, bank and identity theft Tuesday. The Winston-Salem Journal reports Hobson was accused of embezzling the money from High Point Regional Hospital from 2003 to 2017.

The paper says a hospital spokeswoman reports Hobson was director of financial management for the hospital's subsidiary, UNC Regional Physicians, at the time of her termination.

A court record says the transactions appeared on internal records as payroll payments to doctors.

Hobson also was accused of using hospital accounts to make payments on her credit cards and loans. Investigators say she bought luxury cars and gold coins with some of the money.

She faces up to 32 years in prison at sentencing in May.

This story has been corrected to show Kimberly Russell Hobson was director of financial management for a hospital subsidiary, UNC Regional Physicians, at the time of termination.